Fun Fact Friday: Flipping the White House

Did you know that when a U.S. President is sworn into office at noon on Inauguration Day, a hand-picked and highly trained team is tasked with transitioning the old administration out and moving the new administration in, all in less than six hours? Only White House staffers are allowed to touch a president’s belongings, and they’re not allowed to start until the sitting president has exited the White House, so for one day, everyone is a professional mover.

In less than a day, all the carpets, furniture, paintings, sculptures, mattresses, and curtains must be changed, and the White House is given a top to bottom makeover, from the Oval Office, to the personal residence, and all the staff offices in between. Decorators, movers, chefs, cleaning staff, and many others work tirelessly to ensure that everything is ready for the new president.

The outgoing president exits the home on Inauguration Day, and the incoming president enters the home complete with pictures on the walls, books on the shelves, and socks in the drawers just a few hours later.

The White House staff, in a race against time, makes sure that everything is perfectly prepared and ready for the incoming president (and his army of staffers) to begin running the country from the moment he steps inside.